Sharks 4, Blues 2

December 17, 2013|Reuters

Sharks 4, Blues 2: Martin Havlat and defenseman Matt Irwin each scored and set up a goal and Antti Niemi turned aside 20 shots as visiting San Jose completed a three-game sweep of the regular-season series.

Joe Pavelski netted his fourth goal in as many contests and Brent Burns also tallied for the Sharks, who posted just their second win in seven outings (2-4-1). San Jose scored twice in the first period and outscored the Blues by an 8-0 margin in the opening 20 minutes of the three games.

Defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk and Jay Bouwmeester scored and Jaroslav Halak finished with 23 saves as St. Louis played without David Backes. The captain suffered an upper-body injury against Ottawa on Monday and saw his streak of 274 consecutive regular-season games come to an end.

Lively caroms off the end boards resulted in San Jose's first two goals as Pavelski cleaned up Havlat's shot midway through the first period before Irwin did the same on fellow defenseman Justin Braun's bid nearly three minutes later.

Burns gave the Sharks a 3-0 advantage exactly two minutes into the second period by scoring for the first time since recording a hat trick in the team's 6-3 home triumph over the Blues on Nov. 29. With San Jose cycling the puck, Burns skated in front and lifted a shot past Halak for his ninth tally.

St. Louis got on the scoreboard with 4:29 remaining in the second as Shattenkirk's point shot deflected off sliding San Jose center Andrew Desjardins and past Niemi. Bouwmeester tallied with 25 seconds left in the session, taking advantage of a screen by Alexander Steen before blasting a shot past Niemi.

San Jose prevented the comeback and spoiled Blues coach Ken Hitchcock's 62nd birthday as Havlat scored his first goal since Nov. 30 at the 8:19 mark of the third period. The tally resulted as Havlat cleaned up a rebound after Braun's shot hit the post to give the Sharks a 4-2 lead.

GAME NOTEBOOK: San Jose captain Joe Thornton notched an assist to join teammate Patrick Marleau as the only players to register 700 with the Sharks. Thornton continues to climb the career assists list - with 818 he is seven behind Alex Delvecchio for 25th place. ... Blues LWs Vladimir Sobotka and Jaden Schwartz missed the contest with upper-body injuries. ... San Jose snapped a four-game road winless skid.